Chapter 39

"Clang... Clang... Clang..."

It was the sound of a bell.

The deep bell tolls echoed through the dark space, as if striking deep into the hearts of those present. Rod stood up, his eyes scanning the surroundings with caution, while gripping the card in his hand tightly.

"Riege."

"Ah, yes!"

"Do you remember what we did in that town?"

"I remember!"

Riege, who had been uneasy, immediately jumped up at Rod's command, wasting no time. Soon, a ball of light, glowing with a gentle radiance, appeared in the young girl's hand. As the sacred light emerged, something seemed to be stirred, and a strong cold wind blew through, causing even the roaring fire to flicker and sway.

"Mr. Rod, is it the same as in that town?"

"Essentially, no difference."

"..."

Hearing Rod's nonchalant response, Riege's heart was finally eased. If it were the old her, she would probably still be anxious. However, after the battle in the Fog Town, Riege was pleasantly surprised to find that as a Spirit Master, she also possessed the ability to fight, and could even gain the upper hand against those terrifying undead monsters. This gave her a confidence she had never felt before. In the past, she could only stand back and watch her companions fight while she was unable to help. But now, in certain situations, she could also join the battle and didn't always need to be protected. This filled Riege with confidence, and the fear of the haunted house diminished significantly after hearing Rod's response.

If Rod could say it, it meant he definitely had a plan!

Unconsciously, Riege had begun to trust and rely on this young man, whom she had known for not very long.

The battle began.

Rod raised his alertness, scanning the surroundings with caution. He then flipped his right hand, and soon, the Star Trace once again cut through the darkness, appearing in Rod's hand. Next, Rod suddenly swung his long sword, and a blazing red lotus fire shot out from the blade, rolling and coalescing on the ground, revealing the form of a black hound.

The Flame Killer.

The black hound, surrounded by swirling flames, immediately showed signs of high tension and sensitivity upon its appearance. It crouched low, gripping the ground firmly, its back arched, and faced the darkness with caution, growling deeply in its throat. Clearly, as a sensitive elemental spirit, it had already sensed the danger here.

"Riege, cast a shield on yourself. Remember, if you encounter any danger, use the healing spell immediately... You know what to do."

"Yes, sir."

With a clear response, Riege quickly calmed down. As Rod had observed, the girl could almost reach the limits of perfection in details, but on the contrary, if she didn't have a clear goal, she would immediately become lost and unsure. Now, after receiving orders from Rod, he saw the girl, who had been terrified all day as if she were on a haunted house adventure, finally regain her usual composure.

"Follow me."

With that, Rod turned and walked towards the entrance of the hall.

The corridor outside was silent.

The broken windows rattled in the cold wind, opening and closing, and the sounds of their collisions with the walls echoed through the quiet mansion.

At first glance, it seemed no different from before.

But something was changing in the shadows.

Rod noticed that in the corner, a faint, dark shadow was slowly flowing, hidden in the darkness, while the black hound became increasingly agitated. It opened its mouth, revealing sharp, white teeth, and sparks of fire sprayed from between its teeth, giving off a menacing aura.

When the two reached the end of the stairs, nothing unusual had happened yet. However, Rod's expression grew increasingly serious. He gestured for Riege to follow him closely, then stepped forward.

"Whoosh!!"

At that moment, a half-statue that had been in the hall seemed to be pushed by something, rolling towards Rod.

Here they come!

Facing the incoming attack, Rod immediately swung his sword at the statue.

"Boom!"

The rolling statue shattered, and at the same time, Riege felt a chill behind her.

She instinctively turned her head and saw several blue, human-like figures slowly emerging from the ground at the bottom of the stairs.

"Evil Spirits!"

Unlike the Wraiths, which were "specific products of specific occasions," Evil Spirits were a well-known, or rather, a widely recognized evil monster across the continent. They were the pitiful souls of people who, after death, were infected by evil forces and could not leave this world, filled only with hatred for the living and desperate struggles. They were present in many places, and as a Spirit Master, Riege had naturally studied a lot about Evil Spirits.

If it were the old her, Riege might not have known what to do, but after the battle in Fog Town, she had her own plan. Facing the appearing Evil Spirits, she raised her hand without hesitation.

At that moment, Rod reached out and placed his hand on Riege's shoulder.

"Mr. Rod?"

Noticing Rod's strange action, Riege turned her head in surprise and confusion.

"You can try a better method."

Facing Riege's questioning gaze, Rod's expression remained calm and composed. He then leaned down and whispered something in Riege's ear. Hearing Rod's suggestion, Riege's face first showed surprise, then turned to astonishment, curiosity, and finally determination.

"I'll do my best, Mr. Rod."

"Very good, then I'll handle the ones above."

At that moment, over a dozen Evil Spirits appeared from both above and below. They swayed their bodies, moving with an eerie grace in the air, extending their hands, and let out heart-chilling screams as they lunged at the living beings before them, intent on tearing them apart and turning them into their companions.

But the Evil Spirits did not achieve their goal.

The first to act was not Rod.

Accompanied by a loud whistle, the black hound, which had been ready, leaped high, opening its fierce and terrifying mouth. In the next instant, a burst of flames shot out, hitting the Evil Spirits.

Undead creatures fear positive energy and fire. Now that Rod had both cards in his hand, this was why he dared to challenge this special mission. If he were alone, he would never have come here for the small reward of 500 gold coins, which wouldn't even cover the cost of his life.

Under the intense flames, the Evil Spirits screamed and retreated. Their ethereal bodies could ignore ordinary weapons, but they were powerless against magical attacks. Soon, two or three Evil Spirits were engulfed by the flames, screaming as they disintegrated into nothingness. The surrounding, long-rotted furniture and decorations also caught fire.

The formation of the Evil Spirits became disorganized, and at that moment, Rod's Shadow Flash activated again.

With a powerful thrust, he leaped over the stairs like a swift, agile swallow, passing through the barrier of flames with a shadowy trail. The Evil Spirits, still unaware of what had happened, saw a white blade thrust towards them, slicing through one of them like butter, splitting it in two and causing it to vanish. The remaining Evil Spirits, realizing the danger, quickly retreated and merged into the walls, disappearing.

The stairs began to shake.

A long-sealed, rusted suit of armor creaked as it moved towards the stand, slowly raising its sword and swinging it down at Rod, who was facing away.

But before the sword could strike, the black hound pounced, pinning the armor to the ground and opening its mouth to spew another burst of scorching flames.

[Experience Gained: 360/2500]

Not enough.

Rod glanced at the system notification. The experience gain was not fast, far less than what he had gained in the Twilight Forest. But it was understandable, as this was not a dungeon, and these Evil Spirits were not elite monsters. He could easily take out a dozen of them, so naturally, he wouldn't gain much experience... However, for Rod, there was something more important than experience to focus on.

He turned and looked at the girl standing on the stairs.

The screams of the Evil Spirits grew clearer.

Facing the cold, death-filled figures rushing towards her, Riege raised her right hand, her mind recalling Rod's words.

"Healing Light is not just for healing wounds, Riege. Remember, condense, overlap, compress, and then release. I believe you can do it."

Condense...

Riege could feel the sacred power gathering under her will, quickly reaching its limit. Normally, she would release the Healing Light with a thought. But now, she did not do so.

Overlap...

The sacred power continued to condense, creating unstable fluctuations, like a person trying to balance two bowls of water, gradually feeling overwhelmed.

Compress...

The two streams of sacred power began to merge, but Riege's mind was also reaching its limit. Her hand trembled slightly, almost unable to hold on.

At that moment, the wailing Evil Spirits pounced on her.

As Riege regained her senses, she saw the angry and painful face of the Evil Spirit, causing her to instinctively step back. The energy in her hand, which had been on the verge of collapse, dissipated with the shock. But before Riege could react, a shining sword flashed past her, piercing the Evil Spirit and causing its attack to falter. At the same time, Rod's voice rang out.

"Try again."

"Yes."

Riege bit her lower lip and raised her hand again. With the experience from before, the sacred power quickly condensed in her hand. Looking at the distant Evil Spirits, she clenched her teeth and reached out.

"Swish!"

A beam of light appeared out of nowhere, slamming down like a massive pillar. The Evil Spirit below had no time to react and was instantly obliterated, shattering like fragile glass.

"Ah?"

Riege retracted her hand, her eyes wide with surprise and delight. She knew that the Healing Light was highly effective against undead creatures, but she hadn't expected it to be this powerful. Blessed by the Holy Soul, in terms of power, this had completely surpassed the range of a healing spell. Even the Judgement Hammer of the Temple's High Bishop might not be more powerful than this.

Before Riege could fully express her joy, Rod's calm voice brought her back to reality.

"Keep trying, this is just the beginning."

PS: Regarding the chapter adjustment issue, I would like to explain to all the readers. Initially, I didn't post Chapter 37. I had written it, thinking I had posted it, but it didn't actually go through... It was a tragedy. Then, the second tragedy happened today when I noticed something was wrong. I then modified the original Chapter 38 to Chapter 37, but as you can see... the title changed, but the content remained the same, and more bizarrely, the content in the author's backend was the modified version... So, out of necessity, I had to delete these two chapters and re-post them in the correct order. I've never had such issues before, and I'm not sure what's been going on these past two days... It's been a tragedy.